GeekDads and GeekMoms Are Coming to PAX Prime!

Labor Day weekend is almost upon us, which means it’s almost time for the Penny Arcade Expo! Gamers gather in Seattle, WA every year to celebrate games of all kinds and socialize with their fellow geeks. GeekDad and GeekMom are back again this year to bring you “Raising the Next Generation of Geeks” on Saturday, August 31, at 11:30 AM in the Serpent Theater.

Curious what’s on deck for this year’s panel? We’ll be back with the same great discussions with geeky moms and dads on the panel and in the theater. This year you’ll also hear not just from the parents, but from the parented — our kids who have their own take on what it’s like to be the next generation of geeks.

This year at PAX Prime we thought it would be fun to encourage participation in the con and mix it up a little bit with our prize giveaways. Attached as a PDF is a list of people to find, games to play, and activities to do at PAX. The idea is simple. Use your phone or your camera to take a picture of yourself doing each of the things on the list and bring the phone or the camera to the PAX Prime GeekDad/GeekMom panel on Saturday. We will score your entry to see how many points you have earned. You may even get to pick from our fantastic pile of prizes!

The Rules:

1. The GeekMom/GeekDad scavenger hunt is to be played for fun. If you won’t be happy unless you win a certain prize or get the highest score, please put down your camera and find something else to do at PAX.

2. Get a picture of yourself doing the activity or with the person listed in the scavenger hunt. This is a photo scavenger hunt—no picture, it didn’t happen. If you are taking a picture of a person, it must be clear that they are taking the picture with you. Walking by in the background doesn’t count.

3. GeekDad/GeekMom staff are the final word in scoring. Arguing could lead to disqualification.

4. Prize distribution:
There will be three brackets in this contest: 4-12, 13-17, and Adult (including kids ages 0-3). At all GeekMom/GeekDad panels, prizes are distributed at the discretion of the panel. Scoring well in the scavenger hunt will be taken into consideration but will not be the only consideration when giving out prizes. Adults and teens should expect that preferential treatment may be given to children in the audience. Participation is not a guarantee of any prize.

In the case of ties:
For the kids and teens bracket, ties will be broken by age, youngest first. In the case of the adult bracket, ties will be broken by a friendly game Agricola or—if time does not allow—rock, paper, scissors, lizard, Spock.

5. Grumbling, complaining, or any other form of breaking Wheaton’s law may get you disqualified from the contest. (See rule number 1)

As always, we’re incredibly grateful for all the fantastic folks who donated prizes for our PAX panel giveaways. Here’s a list of our prize donors—click on the links to find out more! (We have a few more potential donors that we’re still finalizing details with, but we’ll update this list as soon as we know.)

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Erik is a husband, father, and full time writer living in Vancouver, Washington. The author of both non-fiction and fiction, Erik spends much of his time hunched over a keyboard. He is the creator of the Pax imperium, including, The Far Bank of the Rubicon. You can find more information about the things he has published on his website.

8 Responses to GeekDads and GeekMoms Are Coming to PAX Prime!

Glad you guys will be back. Last years panel was excellent. I’ve incorporated Jonathon’s recommendation of using coins to manage video game time with my son. It works great and we play more boardgames now because of it. 🙂 Also the pdf link sends me to a blank page.

Excited to attend the panel again, although I think I will be pushing my son’s patience making him attend the panel, think the scavenger hunt will be way too much for him on top of PAX in general. Hoping that the inclusion of your kids on the panel will make it more something he will get into!

Something very important to note about that vandaleyes item: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not stick eyes onto anything that is part of the convention center. The WSCTC gets VERY grumpy about stickers; they charge big bucks to remove them.
If you’re going to vandaleyes something, get permission, and make sure it is something that will go away when PAX is over.

I am glad GeekDad & GeekMom will be there but i have to say the way ticket sales happened this year REALLY turned me off. I’ll be watching the coverage and probably saving my dollars for a different con instead.

Agreed—the ticket sales this year were ridiculous. I’m not sure what the best solution is, but it’s clear that PAX needs to work on something. Of course, at this point demand outstrips supply, not to mention scalpers picking up extras. How do other large conventions manage this sort of thing—anybody know?